Q: Let's start with the goaltending. Jimmy Howard has gotten the majority of starts over the past month. Is that more indicative of Howard's solid play or Chris Osgood's poor play?

A: (Coach Mike) Babcock puts it very simply: The goalies decide who plays --meaning playing well equals another start. Howard has been brilliant, especially the past month. His only goal against Saturday at Phoenix was on a 5-on-3. He'll be in net again against the Ducks.

Q: How much has the loss of forwards Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Kopecky and Jiri Hudler impacted the Red Wings, who were ranked 22nd in scoring entering Sunday?

A: Not nearly as much as the injury losses of Johan Franzen, ValtteriFilppula (only just back right after Christmas), Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Henrik Zetterberg, and Dan Cleary (third-pair d-man Jonathan Ericsson is also out). Keeping Hossa always was a long shot, especially after the Wings got Franzen locked up last spring. Hudler going rogue (he left for the KHL) was a surprise, but the Wings made up for that by signing Williams and (Todd) Bertuzzi.

Q: Ducks fans would be surprised (and maybe angry) to know that Todd Bertuzzi is healthy and productive. Is he having a career resurgence or does it have more to do with him getting more opportunity in the absence of other offensive players?

A: Bertuzzi may well be the steal of the summer – he's got 12 goals, 25 points, and he makes $1.5 million. He is the healthiest he's been in three years, and no doubt that makes a huge difference. But it's important to note he came into Detroit determined to learn the system and play well in his own end. Bertuzzi really wanted to get his career back on track, but did it the right way, by figuring out how he fit with the way the Wings play, and then using his big body and soft hands. He's one of just four Wings (along with Nicklas Lidstrom, Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom) who has played all 41 games. I don't know why Ducks fans would be angry at Bertuzzi – every team in the summer of '07 knew he'd had back surgery and that it takes a player, especially a big guy like Bertuzzi, time to fully recuperate from that.

Q: A lot of Ducks fans wish the team would have retained Drew Miller, especially because the player they traded for him, Evgeny Artyukhin, has been a disappointment. How has Miller fit in with the Red Wings?

A: He's getting plenty of opportunity because of all the injuries, as right now he's on the second line with Valtteri Filppula and Mattias Ritola. In acquiring Miller the Wings figured they got a good role player who could help kill penalties.

Q: How about Brad May?

A: As Babcock likes to term it, May is someone who'll “keep the flies” off guys like (Pavel) Datsyuk and Zetterberg. May is a smart guy – good in the locker room, and doesn't hurt the team by taking penalties.

Q: The Red Wings are currently out of the top eight in the Western Conference. If they were to make a move before the trade deadline, what area would they be likely to address?

A: Well, once their injured guys come back (all but Franzen should return this month), that'll put them close to the cap. Because they've had so many significant injuries and so many of those players have been out for so long, people forget just how good they look on paper fully healthy: Two enormously skilled centers in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, with the talented Valtteri Filppula third on the depth chart, power forwards in JohanFranzen, Dan Cleary and the resurgent Todd Bertuzzi, the net-front beast that is Tomas Holmstrom, shooters like Jason Williams and Patrick Eaves, and role players like Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, plus the speed of Darren Helm. A defense of Lidstrom, (Brian) Rafalski and Kronwall, plus Brad Stuart, who is having an outstanding season. Jimmy Howard has silenced critics with his stellar play, and whatever ails Osgood in the regular season, he's put together two A-level playoff performances.

Q: You probably don't pay too much attention to the Ducks, but where would they rank in terms of most disappointing teams this season?

A: It's definitely surprising to see how they've struggled this season despite fielding such luminaries as (Scott) Niedermayer, (Ryan) Getzlaf and (Corey) Perry. I'm not one to draw up a playoff picture midway through the season, but I do think it's going to be incredibly hard for some of the teams that are on the outside to climb into the top eight. I think both the Ducks and the Blue Jackets (also on the outs right now) are the two most surprising underachievers, juxtaposed by the achievements of Phoenix and Colorado.

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